Many of the other pictures were much too beautiful to begin with, especially before lunch, but as they were drawn over and over again on birch-bark, they became plainer and easier, till at last even Tegumai said he could find no fault with them. They turned the hissy-snake the other way round for the Z-sound, to show it was hissing backwards in a soft and gentle way (23); and they just made a twiddle for E, because it came into the pictures so often (24); and they drew pictures of the sacred Beaver of the Tegumais for the B-sound (25, 26, 27, 28);
and because it was a nasty, nosy noise (и так как это был Nеприятный, Nосовой звук), they just drew noses for the N-sound (они просто рисовали носы вместо звука N), till they were tired (пока они не устали) (29);
and they drew a picture of the big lake-pike’s mouth for the greedy Ga-sound (и они нарисовали изображение пасти большой озерной щуки вместо жадного звука Ga) (30);
and they drew the pike’s mouth again (и они опять нарисовали пасть щуки) with a spear behind it for the scratchy, hurty Ka-sound (с острогой позади нее вместо царапающего, болезненного звука Ка) (31);
nasty ['nRstI], greedy ['grJdI], nose [nquz]
and because it was a nasty, nosy noise, they just drew noses for the N-sound, till they were tired (29);
and they drew a picture of the big lake-pike’s mouth for the greedy Ga-sound (30);
and they drew the pike’s mouth again with a spear behind it for the scratchy, hurty Ka-sound (31);
and they drew pictures of a little bit of the winding Wagai river (и они нарисовали изображения небольшого кусочка изгибающейся реки Вагай) for the nice windy-windy Wa-sound (вместо едва различимого быстро-стремительного звука W;
and so on and so forth and so following (и так далее и тому подобное и тому последующее) till they had done and drawn all the sound-pictures (пока они не сделали и не нарисовали все картинки звуков) that they wanted (которые были им нужны), and there was the Alphabet, all complete (и был =
windy ['wIndI], forth [fLT], complete [kqm'plJt]
and they drew pictures of a little bit of the winding Wagai river for the nice windy-windy Wa-sound (32, 33);
and so on and so forth and so following till they had done and drawn all the sound-pictures that they wanted, and there was the Alphabet, all complete.
And after thousands and thousands and thousands of years (и спустя тысячи, и тысячи, и тысячи лет), and after Hieroglyphics and Demotics, and Nilotics (и после Иероглифики, и Демотики[123], и Нилотики[124]), and Cryptics, and Cufics (и Криптики, и Куфики[125]), and Runics, and Dorics, and Ionics (и Рунического, и Дорического, и Ионического письма[126]), and all sorts of other ricks and tricks (и всех сортов других шрифтов и штифтов[127];
thousand ['Tauzqnd], Hieroglyphics ["haIqrqu'glIfIks], Alphabet ['xlfqbIt]